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In a radio interview this evening, Gov. David Paterson said he expects to know the number of state employees who will be laid off next week.

“I don’t know the number, I probably will know next week. We’ve got to get started. I don’t want to set this up for January 1…I want to start it before the beginning of next year,” Paterson said on WSYR. “I think it’s my repsonsibility to move forward.”

Paterson’s budget director Bob Megna said last week that planning for layoffs must begin next month; the governor confirmed that point this week. Jim Reith, the host, asked Paterson if he was talking about hundreds or thousands of layoffs.

“I think it would be at least 1,000. And let me tell you, Jim, I feel very badly for the people being laid off,” the governor said. He then blamed public employee unions for rejecting his proposals to lag pay, take furloughs or forgo a scheduled pay increase as forcing him to do layoffs. Paterson suggested union leaders did this because laid-off workers no longer vote in union elections, but workers who have been furloughed do.

“The unions would yell and scream, but this is the most preferred reaction that they have,” Paterson said.

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